The present invention relates to the field of environmental decontamination. It finds particular application in conjunction with a portable enclosure for microbial decontamination of large pieces of equipment, and will be described with particular reference thereto. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is also applicable to the decontamination, treatment, or isolation of other items, both large and small.
Small pieces of equipment used in medical, pharmaceutical, food, and other applications are frequently sterilized or otherwise microbially decontaminated prior to use or reuse. Concerns arise, however, when larger pieces of equipment, such as food and pharmaceutical processing equipment, mail handling equipment, and the like become contaminated with harmful organisms or other species. Such equipment is often too large or is unsuited to being transported to a decontamination system, such as a sterilizer. Further, there is often concern that transporting the contaminated equipment around a facility or to an offsite decontamination system may pose hazards to those transporting the equipment or may spread the contamination around the facility or to transportation equipment.
The present invention provides a new and improved portable environmental enclosure and method of use which overcome the above-referenced problems and others.